Doubts

Afterward, he discussed the specific details with the old man for a while, then left after making the payment.

The order had already been established and could be found on their panels. His Dream Coupons had been paid in full, but most of them were held in a dedicated account and would only be transferred to the Mercenary Group's personal account once the mission had been fully completed.

Combined with the Life Monitoring Service, they could monitor the employer's vital information throughout the entire process. If the employer died during the mission, the remaining payment would not be transferred to the Mercenary Group. This would encourage them to protect the employer more carefully.

Everything appeared to have been prepared for the employers who commissioned the Mercenary Group, but in truth, it was all for the safety of his own life.

Furthermore, he had selected these candidates after monitoring them for a long time.

It was not only their performance in the Dream, but also their behavior in reality.

That proved they belonged to the Justice Sequence, making them safe enough.

Unless they had known Li Ming had been monitoring them for the past half year and had deliberately put on an act for him. If that were truly the case, what else could he say? He could only admit defeat.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

Li Ming arrived at a town outside the Star Dou Great Forest by carriage.

The place was extremely lively, with countless people coming and going. Many Adventurers stayed here and made a living organizing Soul Hunting Teams.

"Power Attack Spirit King leading the team! Control System and Support System included! Those who need to hunt Soul Beasts, sign up now!"

"Soul Hunting Team needs one more! We're short a Healing Spirit Master! Price is negotiable, so act fast!"

Li Ming's expression turned strange. This felt no different from street stalls. Large numbers of Spirit Elders, Spirit Ancestors, and even Spirit Kings disregarded all decorum and hawked their services right by the roadside. It was truly a peculiar sight.

He got out of the carriage, took out Gold Soul Coins to pay the fare, then wandered around the town before eventually entering an inn.

The inn was just as bustling. There were almost no vacant seats in the main hall, and anyone who wanted to sit could only share a table with others.

It was both an inn and a place that served food.

Li Ming's gaze shifted as it roamed over the various tables in the hall.

In the end, his eyes settled on one table, and he immediately walked over.

"How long are we supposed to wait here? Our time is precious."

As soon as Li Ming approached, he heard one of the burly men complaining.

"Enough. This is a big job, so take it easy and keep that temper in check!"

Another person immediately scolded him.

By then, Li Ming was already standing beside their table.

There were seven people at this table, five men and two women.

They sensed something and immediately turned their eyes toward Li Ming. They glanced at his veiled conical hat, which concealed his face, but did not think much of it.

They spent their lives traveling outside, and their judgment was naturally sharp. Even without seeing Li Ming's face, they could judge his age from his height, the skin of his hands, and even the distinct youthful scent on him.

Seeing this, Li Ming casually sat in the only remaining empty seat. Beside him sat a provocatively dressed woman with above-average, pleasing looks. She wore a beast-hide bandeau over her upper body and loose trousers below. Her skin was bronze, and one foot rested on a chair, making for a rather ungraceful posture.

Yet no man sat beside such a woman, which showed that she was far from ordinary.

Li Ming recognized her. Her name was Guli, and she was straightforward and rather hot-tempered. She was also a Power Attack Spirit Saint.

"Little boy, someone is sitting here. They just haven't arrived yet, so you'd better find somewhere else to sit.

Of course, if you came for your big sister's beauty, I suggest you go home and wait until you've grown some hair before coming back to play with me."

Guli teased Li Ming with a playful look, assuming he had merely come to share the table, or perhaps to flirt with her.

Guli had never considered that Li Ming might be the person they were waiting for. Li Ming looked far too young to possibly be their target.

"Guli, he's still just a child. Don't talk to him like that.

Little friend, this table really is full. You should find another seat. Where are your adults? Don't get separated from them."

At that moment, the other woman at the table spoke. She was clearly the opposite of Guli in personality. She looked refined and poised, with elegant, graceful features. Dressed in a colorful long gown, she resembled a classical beauty. After glaring at Guli, she spoke gently to Li Ming.

Her name was Zhou Jing. She was also a Spirit Saint, a Control Spirit Master.

Li Ming swept his gaze over the seven people present before calmly saying, "I'm the person you're supposed to protect for this mission."

The moment he said that, several of them frowned. They clearly did not believe him. That voice sounded like it belonged to someone whose hair had barely grown in.

"Hehe! Stop joking around. Do you know who we are? Go find your adults already!"

The burly man who had spoken first shouted in a rough voice, trying to drive Li Ming away.

The others felt the same.

"Purple Qi Comes From the East."

Seeing that they did not believe him, Li Ming directly spoke the four words. It was the code phrase he had set for their meeting.

In an instant, all seven people at the table furrowed their brows and stared at Li Ming in disbelief.

"What kind of joke is this? Were we played?"

One of them said in great dissatisfaction. How could a teenager fuse with a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring? Wasn't this just toying with them?

"Don't panic. The money has already been paid. Even if something goes wrong, we can still receive it."

The leading man immediately reassured them. He had long hair and graying temples, giving him a somewhat scholarly appearance. He was the captain of this team, the Power Attack Spirit Saint Zhu Qing.

"Are you really the person we're supposed to protect for this mission?"

Zhu Qing asked doubtfully.

"Of course," Li Ming said directly.

"I heard the person who issued the mission was a young man?"

"That's my older brother," Li Ming replied quickly.

There was naturally nothing wrong with that explanation, but Zhu Qing still hesitated. Their mission this time was to obtain a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. How old was this boy? Could he already fuse with a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring? They truly did not believe it.

"Did your family make a mistake?"

Someone immediately questioned him.

"The mission has been issued, and I'm already here. This is the relevant information. Are you going or not?"

Li Ming did not waste any more words. He took out a cloth scroll and placed it on the table, speaking bluntly.

It contained the location map of the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast he wanted to hunt, along with other relevant information.

The seven exchanged glances. Their meaning was obvious. They had already come all this way, and the other party had paid. What more was there to say?

"But little friend, if you can't fuse with the Soul Ring, that won't be our responsibility. You'll still have to pay us."

"I know. Let's go."

Li Ming did not waste words and directly rose to his feet.

The seven people at the table also stood and headed outside. Zhu Qing picked up the hide scroll from the table, opened it slightly to take a look, then put it away again.

He confirmed that there was nothing wrong with it. It was indeed an intelligence map from Purple Heaven City.

They had seen quite a few over the past half year, so they naturally recognized the style of the intelligence maps.

The group left the town directly and headed toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

Only after leaving the town did Zhu Qing carefully study the map. It was clearly a hand-copied version. After all, intelligence from Purple Heaven City could not be brought out, so it could only be copied from memory again and again.

Besides the map, information about the Soul Beast for this mission was noted beside it.

"Boss, do you really think he can fuse with a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?

Wouldn't he die if he can't?

Will we still get paid then?

I remember they said they used the Life Monitoring Service. Could someone be deliberately setting us up and trying to maliciously lower our rating?"

The rough-looking burly man could not help whispering beside Zhu Qing.